Vietnam's government has decided to donate 5,000 tons of rice to help North Korea recover from recent natural disasters.

The donation was announced during an official visit to Vietnam by President Kim Yong Nam, Chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly and its ceremonial head of state, August 5 to 7.

Kim expressed his thankfulness, saying at the farewell meeting with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung that the aid would help North Korea a lot in its recovery, news website VietNamNet reported.

Typhoon Khanun and torrential rains in late July left at least 120 people dead in North Korea, more than 84,000 homeless and nearly 114,000 acres of crops destroyed, according to a report August 1 by US-based The Epoch Times.

North Korea is frequently a victim of food shortages and bad weather, including drought and floods. The 1990s saw massive famines in the country.

A UN report in June said two-thirds of North Korea's population of 24 million still face chronic food shortages.

The North Korean leader also said he was glad to witness social-economic achievements in Vietnam since his previous and first visit in 2001 as parliament chairman. He said that Vietnam's development is an encouragement to North Korea, and he would want Vietnam to share its experience.

In January 1992, Kim visited Vietnam as North Korea's deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Dung said he wished to develop further cooperations with North Korea and will support the latter in maintaining peace on the Korea Peninsula, while Kim said North Korea would do the same for Vietnam's involvement in the South China Sea dispute.